Bid to save condemned Australian

Fears over the transparency and fairness of the Vietnamese justice system
were raised yesterday after an Australian woman was sentenced to death.

†Sydney woman Le My Linh, 43, was arrested at Vietnam's Ho Chi Min City
airport in November on charges of possessing a traffickable amount of
heroin.

†She had pleaded guilty and yesterday a Vietnamese court sentenced her
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Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has written to his Vietnamese
counterpart, Nguyen Dy Nien, expressing Australia's opposition to the death
penalty.

†``We're not asking for special consideration for drug traffickers but
what we're saying is that we don't want any Australian citizen, or anyone for
that matter, to be executed,'' Mr Downer said.

``We have approached the Vietnamese Government and explained to them that the
Australian Government doesn't sup port capital punishment.

``We ... will continue to make representations to the Vietnamese making our
views clear on the penalty. ``We hope that the sentence can be commuted to a
custodial sentence.''

Mr Downer also spoke yesterday to the Vietnamese ambassador to Australia,
Vu Chi Cong, to make the same points on behalf of Ms Le, a mother of two.

Vietnam last year executed a Canadian citizen convicted on drug-smuggling
charges. Trafficking in 600 grams of heroin or more can attract the death
sentence in Vietnam, where the penalty is carried out by firing squad.

Australia's Vietnamese community expressed deep concern over the judicial
system. Vietnamese Community in Australia federal president Trung Doan said the
judicial system in Vietnam was so unfair it was hard for people to feel sure
guilt had been established.

†``We are quite concerned about the lack of transparency and fairness in
the Vietnamese judicial system,'' Mr Trung said. ``It's very difficult to tell
whether this woman is actually guilty.

``We don't trust the system there.''

He urged the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to reconsider its
development assistance amounting to $72.2 million this financial year.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd was briefed by department
officials yesterday on the nature of Vietnam's judicial process, the adequacy
of Ms Le's legal representation and whether she was receiving full consular
assistance.

``I fully support Foreign Minister Downer's spoken intentions in these
matters and his call on Vietnamese officials to consider Australia's opposition
to the death penalty,'' he said.

``While our view is that anyone guilty of major drug trafficking offences
should be dealt with by the full force of the law this, in the Australian legal
tradition, does not include death by firing squad.''

Ms Le is expected to appeal against the sentence. Mr Downer warned Australian travellers they were subject to the laws of the countries they visited.